Work is due to start on a new multi-storey car park and link road for Yeovil District Hospital (YDH), thanks to a £15.2m deal secured by the hospital’s Strategic Estates Partnership – a joint venture between YDH and Interserve Prime.

The public-private deal will see the redevelopment of the hospital’s Cheverton site into a 656-space multi-storey car park to better meet demand for onsite parking for patients, visitors and staff. The project also includes the construction of a new road to link Higher Kingston Road and Kingston Road to improve access and ease congestion around the hospital.

The multi-storey car park and link road project is the first to be delivered through the strategic estates partnership. Appointed in November 2014, Interserve Prime is working with the Trust on its ambitious plans to improve the hospital site, helping to deliver the estate masterplan and provide high quality facilities that improve the patient, visitor and staff experience.

The multi-storey car park is a pivotal project for future development plans as it will free up other land on the site for redevelopment, creating space for new patient services, such as a health and social care campus. The project will also allow the Trust to keep the income from parking tariffs for its frontline services and enable it to retain operational control.

The pace of delivery means the scheme will start on site within 12 months of the first project meeting, which has included development of the design, achieving planning consent and securing funding and business case approvals.

Interserve Prime director Leighton Chumbley said: “The car park is the first of many exciting new developments planned for YDH. With funding now in place, we can move forward with this gateway project for the hospital which will equip the site with the facilities necessary to cope with growing patient numbers and future demand while opening up space on the estate for the introduction of new patient services.”

Paul Mears, Chief Executive at Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: “The new multi-storey car park will give the extra capacity we need to ensure that patients arriving at the hospital are able to park easily, making their visit to us as stress-free as it can be.

“The access and parking project is something that we have wanted to do for some time and it will undoubtedly have a huge positive impact on patients, staff and visitors to the hospital. Our partnership with Interserve Prime has now made this possible and given us the additional resources and expertise to progress the project in a very short time frame.”

Construction of the new link road will begin in late January 2016, with the new car park due to be operational at the start of 2017.